


Date Night

by The_German_Grim_Reaper



Series: A Mutual Trust [3]
Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dark Will Graham, Episode: s01e11 Rôti, Established Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, Hannibal (TV) Season/Series 01, Hannibal Lecter Loves Will Graham, Hannibal Lecter is a Cannibal, Hannibal Lecter is the Chesapeake Ripper, Hannibal's idea of a good date is MURDER, M/M, Will Graham Knows, Will Graham Loves Hannibal Lecter, Will Graham is a Cannibal, alana finds out they are dating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:28:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27436564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_German_Grim_Reaper/pseuds/The_German_Grim_Reaper
Summary: Having been safety rescued from Abel Gideon's clutches (courtesy of his boyfriend, the Chesapeake Ripper), things have gone back to normal for Will Graham.  Well, mostly.
Relationships: Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter
Series: A Mutual Trust [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1979785
Comments: 29
Kudos: 366





	Date Night

**Author's Note:**

> This is, as far as I have planned, the last fic in this particular series. I might be convinced to write more, but probably not for at least another month, because school is kicking my ass right now. (On the plus side, though, now that this is done I can get to work on the second chapter of my Addams family au. God, I have too many projects.)
> 
> Open to alternative title ideas. Also, we won! Consider this a celebratory 'no more president trump' update, even though it has absolutely nothing to do with the election.

Will woke up in a bed that was not his own, his arms wrapped around someone else’s body and his face pressed against a broad-shouldered chest. A few months ago, this would have been a rather alarming position to wake up in, but now he’d grown accustomed to it.

“Are you awake, _mylimasis_?” a familiar voice asked him, fingers combing gently through Will’s hair.

“Mmm.” Will nuzzled further into his chest, not ready to wake up just yet. “Wha’ time is it?”

There was a soft laugh. “A little bit after nine. I thought it best to let you sleep.”

Will blinked his eyes open, looking up lazily. Hannibal’s doting smile was always a pleasant sight to wake up to. “Has Jack been calling?”

“Yes. Several times, in fact. He seemed rather taken aback to hear my voice answering your phone.”

Will groaned, pulling away from Hannibal and forcing himself to sit up. Jack had only found out about their relationship the previous night. Although he’d chosen not to ask questions for the moment, Will just knew he was going to be getting a lot of odd looks in the next few days as Jack came to terms with this newfound information. “D’you think the sedative you gave me has worn off by now?”

“It would have worn off several hours ago,” Hannibal assured him. “Since then, you’ve just been sleeping. There shouldn’t be any lingering effects.”

“Then I should probably give Jack a call. He’ll want to take my statement sooner rather than later.”

“At least let me make you breakfast first,” Hannibal insisted, picking up a small teacup from the end table and offering it out to Will.

Will took it with a small smile of thanks and took a sip, his eyes fluttering shut as he savored the flavor. He much preferred coffee, but apparently too much caffeine would interact badly with his medication, so he was stuck with tea until his next round of treatment was over. As much as he missed coffee, he had to admit that Hannibal was very good at making tea. The flavor was deep, slightly nutty with a refreshing zing of orange. He wondered how long Hannibal had been awake, since he’d clearly already gotten out of bed to brew the tea.

Hannibal pressed a quick kiss to Will’s cheek before leaving the room to prepare breakfast. Will sighed, leaning back against the mountain of pillows and taking another sip of his tea. The teacup itself was not one he’d seen before amongst Hannibal’s carefully-curated collection of china. It seemed to be made of ceramic rather than the delicate porcelain that Hannibal usually favored. The color was a very distinctive shade of stormy gray-blue and there was a thin line of gold around the lip, as well as gold lettering in what looked like Japanese Kanji.

He frowned as a thought occurred to him. “Hannibal?” he called, knowing that he’d hear him even from downstairs.

“Yes?” His voice came from down the hall.

“Did you order a new tea set?”

There was a moment’s hesitation before Hannibal replied. “Perhaps.”

Will sighed and got out of bed, setting the teacup down only momentarily as he shrugged on a sweater over his usual undershirt. He headed downstairs, figuring that Hannibal probably wouldn’t appreciate him getting crumbs all over the bed if he chose to eat there. When he reached the kitchen, Hannibal was standing by the stove. The smell of eggs filled the air.

“You already have, like, five different tea sets. Why did you need another one?” he asked, although Will suspected he already knew the answer.

Hannibal sniffed haughtily. “One can never have too many tea sets, Will."

“And I suppose us dating had nothing to do with it?”

Hannibal’s cheeks flushed slightly, almost unnoticeable in the harsh light of the kitchen. “I didn’t say that,” he said, and Will couldn’t help but smile.

“You’re a sap,” he accused, eyes bright as he watched Hannibal cook. “What does it say?”

Hannibal paused for a moment before shaking his head. “The one you are holding says ‘heart’. The others say different things.”

Will laughed, shaking his head. “An _absolute_ sap. Next you’ll be telling me you picked out the color to match my eyes or something ridiculous like that.”

There was another pause, this one longer than before, and Will could have sworn Hannibal’s cheeks darkened further.

“Wait, you _did_? That’s actually really sweet, I wasn’t trying to make fun of you.” He set his cup of tea on the counter and made his way over to Hannibal, standing just close enough so that their shoulders brushed. “What are you cooking?”

“Omelettes. They should be ready in about five minutes.”

Will opened his mouth to reply, but before he could say anything, there was the distinct sound of a phone vibrating in the other room. Will tilted his head in a silent question.

“It’s yours. I brought it down here when I was making the tea.”

Will sighed, nodding, and trudged into the other room to answer Jack’s call. He took his cup of tea with him, mentally preparing himself to face the world once again.

  
  


***

Will stepped out of Jack’s office, feeling the exhaustion leave his bones as he closed the door firmly behind him. It was hard work, lying to his boss about the identity of America’s most prolific serial killer, but he couldn’t bring himself to regret a thing.

Beverly was leaning against the wall just outside of the office. When she saw Will she straightened up. “You doing all right?” she questioned, holding out a to-go cup of coffee.

He took the coffee gratefully. “Yeah, just tired. Any word on Gideon?”

“No, but if the Ripper got his hands on him, we aren’t expecting any. Not until they find the body, that is. God, I can’t believe you were in the same room as the Ripper and survived.”

_The same_ bed, _actually_ , Will thought idly. Of course, he couldn’t exactly tell her that. “He kills people who have offended him in some way; just because I’m investigating him doesn’t mean I’ve been _rude_. But yeah, it was pretty terrifying.”

That was a total lie, but Will had become a very convincing liar in the past few months. Beverly accepted that with a nod as they walked down the hallway, headed towards the labs. “Still, must have been awful. We got the blood work back from you and Freddie Lounds, looks like you were dosed with the same chemical. Shouldn’t have any lasting effects in the dose you were given.”

Will nodded, taking a small sip of his coffee. It was decent- a bit burnt, but not overly sweet like some of the monstrosities Beverly had made him try before. Then he paused. “Uh, I don’t suppose this is decaf?” he asked hopefully.

“No, why?”

“I’m, uh, supposed to be limiting my caffeine intake right now.” he admitted, handing it back to her.

She frowned as she took it from his hand. “What for?”

He knew Beverly well enough to know what she wouldn’t push if he didn’t want to share. But to his surprise, Will found that he didn’t mind the idea of telling her. “Do you remember when I was out sick for a couple of weeks back in October?”

She nodded.

“Yeah, well, it wasn’t for the flu. Turns out I had anti-NMDA encephalitis. The entire left side of my brain was all swollen up and,” he said, making a vague hand gesture to represent an explosion.

Her eyes widened dramatically. “Holy shit, Will. I had no idea.”

  
He laughed awkwardly. “Yeah, that was kind of the point. I didn’t want anybody to treat me differently. I’m pretty much back to normal now and I’m not hallucinating anymore, so.” That was mostly true; he’d had a couple of brief hallucinations in the past few days, but it was nothing he couldn’t handle, and he’d known they were hallucinations right away. It was nothing like it had been before.

“Jesus. How did you find out?”

“Dr Lecter smelled it on me, if you can believe it. I swear, sometimes it’s like he’s not even human.”

That startled a laugh out of her. “I hope that wasn’t a joke about what he’s like in bed, because I did _not_ need to know that.”

Will spluttered, turning red. “ _Beverly_!” he hissed, glancing around to make sure nobody had overheard them.

She rolled her eyes, giving him a teasing smile. “Oh, come on, Will. We _all_ saw you two at the crime scene yesterday. You weren’t subtle.”

He scowled at her, cheeks still flaming red. “Shut up,” he muttered. Was it really _his_ fault if his first instinct after being kidnapped was to get a hug from his significant other? He didn’t think so.

“So how long has _that_ been a thing?” she questioned, wriggling her eyebrows suggestively. “When did you start hooking up with Dr Sexy?”

“We aren’t ‘hooking up’,” he objected.

“Oh, so it’s _serious_ then.”

If this was anyone else, Will would have been put out by her teasing, but he knew Beverly well enough that he didn’t take offense. “Middle of August,” he admitted, turning the corner as they drew nearer to the labs. “And no, I will not be telling you any details about my sex life.”

She shrugged, accepting that. “That’s almost four months. Good for you, tiger.”

The two of them fell silent as they reached the labs. Will appreciated that Beverly knew when to stop teasing. He wasn’t sure if Price and Zeller had noticed the same thing she did at the crime scene the previous night, and he’d rather not out himself to them if he didn’t have to. Not that he thought they were homophobic- the two men were _clearly_ dating and were very open about their relationship- but he wasn’t sure he was ready for his relationship with Hannibal to become public knowledge.

When they entered the lab, Will was greeted by the sight of two bodies on the table. One he recognized from the day before- Dr Carruthers, drained of blood and with his tongue hanging out of his neck. The other body was almost identical, but with the addition of a missing arm.

“I don’t know if you’re still technically on the Gideon case, but you’re our best shot to find the Ripper and we all know it,” Beverly told him. “Want to take a look?”

Will nodded, moving over to the second body. “Gideon didn’t do this,” he said, tilting his head slightly as he pictured the crime.

“That’s what Dr Lecter said, too,” Price told him. “He said the Ripper was leaving us a clue.”

“The severed arm leading to the observatory where we found Miriam Lass’s,” Will agreed. “He’s not wrong. I don’t know if there’s much else I can get from this one. It’s not the start of another sounder, it was just a message.”

Beverly sighed. “Damn. Well, it was worth a shot.”

“Maybe he can get something from Lounds and Chilton,” Zeller suggested. “We’ve got pictures.”

Will was surprised, since Zeller had never shown much faith in his methods before, but he nodded in agreement.

“You sure?” Beverly asked him in a low voice. “No judgement if you decide you’re not ready to see this.”

“I saw it last night,” Will pointed out. “And besides, I’m not as delicate as everybody seems to think I am. Give me the pictures.”

Zeller picked up a file that had been sitting out on the table and held it out to Will. He took it, opening it carefully and taking a moment to glance over the images. “He came there for Gideon, but he had the materials to stitch up Chilton and amputate Lounds’s leg anyway. That suggests he keeps a large amount of medical supplies with him when he’s acting as the Ripper, even when he doesn’t expect to need it. He’ll work in a profession that gives him access to those supplies, supporting our theory that he’s a doctor or surgeon.”

“When he’s acting as the Ripper?” Price prompted.

“As opposed to his day-to-day life. The kind of supplies needed for an impromptu amputation aren’t exactly found in a first-aid kit, so he wouldn’t get away with carrying it around at all times.”

“Why did he choose them? Chilton would have been bleeding out, but the Ripper saved him. He took Lounds’s leg, but left you alone,” Beverly mused as she looked over Will’s shoulder at the photos.

“Freddie Lounds offended him. She was going to try and look at his face until I warned her not to; he’d see that as arrogant and rude, thinking she was worthy enough to survive seeing him. Chilton I’m not sure, but my best guess is that the disemboweling interfered with his plans for display, or maybe he just didn’t want Gideon’s hands in one of his kills. We should expect the Ripper to go after Chilton again once he’s healed.”

Zeller frowned. “Doesn’t it seem counterproductive to put so much effort into saving his life if he’s just going to kill him again later?”

“The Ripper is meticulously patient,” Will reminded him. “He likely chooses his victims months or even years in advance. This is well within his capabilities.”

Will excused himself from the room while Beverly jotted down his notes to add to the file. He wasn’t even supposed to be here at all, technically, having been given the rest of the week to recover from his ordeal. He should have gone home after the briefing, but he liked spending time with Beverly and he didn’t mind taking a quick look as a favor to her. It wasn’t as though the bodies were going to disturb him, not when he dined with the Chesapeake Ripper on a regular basis. He _would_ have liked to lie about Chilton, but it wasn’t as though he’d be untouchable even under armed guard, and it might have looked suspicious if Will had gotten it wrong.

He glanced at his watch. It was barely noon; if he went home now, he could spend some quality time with his dogs before that night’s planned activities.

Abel Gideon wouldn’t know what hit him.

  
  


***

Will was only mildly surprised to see Hannibal’s car already in his driveway when he got home. The Bentley should have looked out of place in the rustic wildness of Wolf Trap, but it spent so much time here now that Will hardly even noticed. He got out of the car, grabbing his phone from the center console as he did so, and glanced around for Hannibal. The dogs were romping around in the fields, Winston sitting as a silent guard beside the wide-open front door.

As he reached the porch, Buster came barrelling up the steps just behind him. He head-butted Will in the shin and Will grinned, bending down to give him a quick pet before beckoning Winston over to greet him as well.

“Did things go well with Jack Crawford?” Hannibal asked him. Will glanced up to see that Hannibal was now standing in the open doorway, an almost-unnoticeable smile on his face as he watched Will pet his dogs.

“Yeah, I think so. It was a bit awkward because, you know, us.”

“Because he only recently discovered that the two of us are together? I hope that he refrained from making any unnecessary comments.”

Will rolled his eyes, giving Winston one last pat on the head before standing up. “In his defense, it was quite a shock. But no, he was perfectly polite about it, just kept giving me strange glances when he thought I wasn’t looking.” He couldn’t help but smile at the memory of the night before, when he’d flung himself into Hannibal’s arms in front of everyone without thought for what it might reveal. It was still a bit uncomfortable to know that so many people were now aware of their relationship status, but it’s not like he was ashamed of loving Hannibal.

“Well, if he ever becomes bothersome, do let me know. If worst comes to worst, I can always let something slip to Bella.”

Will blinked, his brain taking a moment to process that the ‘Bella’ Hannibal was referring to was Jack’s wife. “Isn’t that a little unethical?” he teased as he moved past Hannibal and into his home. “Manipulating one of your patients like that. An ethics committee would have a fit.”

“Ah, yes,” Hannibal said dryly, leaving the door open behind them, “because I have never been one to bend the rules.”

Will chuckled. “Yeah, yeah, we all know how much you enjoy your medical malpractice. Speaking of which, any word on Gideon?”

It was odd, being able to talk so freely about the issue of the encephalitis. Just the other day they had been fighting about it, but after having a rather long talk about it at Hannibal’s home the previous night, he felt much better about the whole situation.

“I have some ideas as to where we can look,” Hannibal told him, not protesting the change of subject. “Although the most efficient way to escape from me would be to head west, I expect he’s smart enough to know that I’ll know that. I believe he’ll try to lay low near Baltimore for a few weeks until he believes my scrutiny has died down, and make his escape then.”

“Hmm. The house where he killed his in-laws?” Will suggested, but he was shaking his head even as he said it. “No, too predictable.”

“The FBI will be looking there for him, he’ll find somewhere less conspicuous.”

Will considered it for a long moment. “He’ll just choose a random house, then. Kill the family and stay there. He’s not an idiot, he’ll know that you and the FBI will be looking into places that have sentimental value to him.”

Hannibal nodded in affirmation. “I’ve mapped out a search area of where he’ll likely be, based on the location of the observatory and the two-hour limit I gave him. I was hoping you could narrow it down further.”

Will nodded. “Sure. Just give me the map and I’ll see what I can do."

  
  


***

In the end, Will narrowed it down to three probable neighborhoods. There were a lot of factors to consider- whether Gideon stole a car or walked, whether he chose to find a house right away or put as much distance between him and the observatory as possible- but of all the possibilities, only three both fit the criteria and had reported attempted break-ins the previous night. As Will had rightly pointed out, Gideon would have been exhausted from his long day and it was entirely probable that he’d been chased off from one or more houses before finding one that would work.

Will sat in his car with the lights off, silently staking out a rather upscale retirement community. Two of the residents had- according to Hannibal, although Will had no idea where he’d gotten his information- reported suspicious activity the night before. One reported seeing a man in her garden just past midnight, while another had heard rattling at her doorknob as though someone was trying to force the lock. There was no guarantee that it was Gideon, but it was worth a shot, so here Will was.

He glanced at his phone. Hannibal was out scouting another neighborhood in his own car, leaving the third to be examined another night. He was hoping for a call or a text to end the drudgery of his stake-out, maybe Hannibal saying that he’d found Gideon and they could go home, or perhaps just calling it a night, but there was nothing.

Will sighed, turning his attention back to the houses around him. If he was Gideon, which one would he pick? The smallest house, a white one just to the left of his car, was out of the question. That was where the attempted break-in had been the previous night, and he wouldn’t go back there twice. The one two houses down was unlikely, as well, the place a man had been spotted lurking in the garden. But there were several other houses in this tiny little neighborhood, and any one of them would make a good hideaway.

There was a movement in the corner of his eye and Will turned his head sharply. In the second floor window of a little two-story yellow house, a dark shape watched him silently from between parted curtains. It was the stag, pitch-dark and feathery and just as menacing as it had always been. Will took a deep breath and focused, and the apparition vanished behind the polka-dotted curtains.

Will took a moment to steady his racing heart, making a mental note to speak with Hannibal about the continued hallucinations. Still, the things he saw had been based in reality before; most notably, the stag man had been his subconscious warning him about Hannibal. Maybe the black stag in the window was another attempt for his subconscious to reach him, transforming clues he hadn’t recognized into something he could see.

He got out of the car, tucking his phone into his jacket pocket and keeping a hand on his gun. He’d prefer not to use it- guns were too easily traceable, and attention-grabbing besides- but it wouldn’t do to be caught off guard. He crept up to the door of the house, keeping a careful watch for any sign of danger.

The house was silent as he tried the doorknob. It was, as he’d expected, locked; he didn’t waste time trying to rattle it open, instead choosing to creep around to the back garden. He paused as he passed a muddy footprint on the windowsill. The melting snow had obscured any footprints that might have been left on the ground, but this was a clear sign that he was in the right place.

He pressed himself to the wall just to the right of the window. If this was how Gideon had gotten in, then Will could most likely get in this way as well. But he wasn’t an idiot, and running into a potentially dangerous situation without backup would be foolish. He pulled out his phone to call Hannibal.

There was the indistinct sound of movement from the other side of the wall and Will stilled, bracing himself. Then he heard the creak of a door swinging open. He cursed under his breath and ran back towards the front of the house, phone still clutched in his hand as he tried to enter Hannibal’s number with frozen fingers.

A body slammed into his own and the phone went flying out of his hands, clattering onto the stone pathway as Will went tumbling down. His shoulder slammed into the stone and he was left winded, staring up into the wild eyes of Abel Gideon.

“No boyfriend today?” the man taunted, gripping Will’s throat with a deadly force.

Will grimaced, bringing his knee up to strike Gideon as hard as he could. The momentary distraction was enough and he rolled to the side, prying Gideon’s hands off of him as he did. He gasped for breath, already knowing there would be a wreath of bruises around his neck in the morning.

He wasn’t really sure what happened after that, except that it ended with him on top of Gideon raining punch after punch onto his already bleeding face. Gideon stopped struggling after the first couple of punches and Will relaxed his hold. 

  
Gideon smiled up at him through bloodied lips. “Not just a pretty face after all, huh? Tell me, are you here for the Ripper or are you on official business?”

“Oh, if this was official business, I would’ve shot you by now,” Will assured him. “Now, I’m going to stand up, and you’re going to do exactly what I say. All right?”

Gideon nodded wearily and Will released him, stepping away and pointing his gun down at the other man. “Stand up and walk to the car.”

Gideon did as he said, grimacing as he limped down the stone pathway towards Will’s car. Will paused only momentarily to pick up his shattered phone, keeping the gun aimed at Gideon the entire time. “Keys are in the ignition. You’re going to drive where I tell you, and no funny business.”

“Or what, you’ll shoot me?” But Gideon did what he said, opening the driver’s side door and all but collapsing inside. Will climbed into the backseat, not lowering the gun as he gave Gideon the address. He briefly considered driving himself, seeing as Gideon was clearly in a lot of pain, but decided against it. If Will was preoccupied with driving, it would be all too easy for Gideon to wrestle control of the gun and gain the upper hand, even with his injuries.

He wished he could text Hannibal to let him know he was coming, but his phone wasn’t turning on. Oh, well. Hannibal would be home eventually; all he’d have to do was wait.

  
  


***

The lights were on when they pulled up beside Hannibal’s house. Will smiled, glad to see that his partner was already home. He would’ve hated for Hannibal to be spending unnecessary time staking out a neighborhood when Will had already captured their target.

He kept the gun pointed at Gideon’s head, his aim steady even as the two men exited the car. It was late enough that none of Hannibal’s neighbors would be looking out their windows, or at least he hoped it was; it would be a rather awkward situation to explain, otherwise. He marched Gideon to the door, only briefly fumbling with his keys as he opened it.

“Honey, I’m home,” he called, allowing a note of teasing to creep into his voice. “And I brought you a present!”

There was a sigh from the other room, the sound of muffled voices, and then Hannibal appeared from around the corner. His usually stoic demeanor faltered when he caught sight of Gideon’s bloodied face. Will was expecting him to comment on it (perhaps ‘good job catching him’ or ‘are you injured’ or ‘you shouldn’t have gone after him alone’) but what he said instead was something completely different.

“Alana’s here,” Hannibal said in a hushed tone.

Will froze. “ _What_?” he whispered back, taken completely by surprise.

“She’s in the other room. We need to-”

  
Whatever Hannibal had been about to say was cut off by the sound of footsteps coming down the hall. Alana’s shoes clicked against the hard floor as she approached, Hannibal’s and Will’s heads both turning towards the sound in a state of muted panic.

Will was the first to react, grabbing the rather amused-looking Gideon and shoving him into the open coat closet. “Stay quiet,” he hissed, “and don’t try anything.” Then, just for good measure, he hit Gideon once more in the head, this time with the butt of his gun. He practically slammed the door, glaring at him even through the barrier that now divided them. 

Gideon did not reply, which Will supposed was probably a good thing. He slipped his gun into his belt. At that moment, Alana rounded the corner, frowning at Will and Hannibal with pursed lips. “Will?” she asked, clearly taken by surprise. “What are you doing here?”

“I could say the same thing to you,” he replied, glancing at Hannibal for a cue.

“Alana called me earlier this evening.” Hannibal slipped back into the role of dutiful host easily, although Will could see a faint tension in his shoulders as his eyes pointedly did _not_ stray to the coat closet. “We’ve been catching up over a glass of wine.”

Will nodded in understanding, once again cursing his own luck. There was no way Hannibal hadn’t warned him about this; if only he hadn’t shattered his phone, they would not be in this awkward situation. At least Gideon seemed to be cooperating. Will wasn’t sure he’d have the heart to kill Alana if she found out, and he would be sure to resent Hannibal for doing it.

“Well, uh. It’s nice to see you, Alana.” It was not, in fact, nice, but it wasn’t _her_ fault she’d chosen such an inconvenient night to visit.

“You too.” She glanced between Will and Hannibal again and Will blushed, realizing that she must have heard his rather informal greeting when he’d come in the door. “I have to admit, I’m kind of confused as to what’s happening here.”

Will opened his mouth to answer, but he wasn’t sure what to say. He raised a hand to gesture vaguely at Hannibal, but then he remembered that his knuckles were bruised and painted with dried blood. He stuffed them back into his pockets, closing his mouth and deciding to let Hannibal do the talking.

Alana didn’t seem to have noticed his hands, but Hannibal had. Will didn’t miss the way his nostrils flared as he caught the scent of the blood. Still, he made no outward indication of it, choosing instead to step closer to Will and address Alana.

“I was not aware that Will would be visiting with me tonight, but he knows that he is welcome in my home at any time.”

Alana’s lips parted in surprise as she grasped the meaning of his words, of their body language, of Will’s familiar greeting upon entering the home. “You two are seeing each other?” she asked, not sounding altogether happy about this new development.

Will smiled awkwardly. “I told you it was complicated,” he reminded her, recalling their conversation only two days before. Had it really only been two days?

“But I didn’t know you were talking about _Hannibal_. You… this is highly irregular. You’re his _therapist_ , Hannibal.”

Hannibal didn’t even blink, wrapping his arm around Will’s waist as he met Alana’s gaze. “I treated Will in an official capacity once, to give him his psychological evaluation after the Hobbs case. After that, we merely had conversations.”

“And we don’t even have those anymore,” Will added. “He hasn’t been treating me in _any_ capacity since before we started dating.”

“I don’t… it’s not my place to tell you what to do, but I’m sure you can understand why I’m surprised. I didn’t even know Will was interested in men.”

Will raised an eyebrow. He was pretty sure she wasn’t trying to be offensive, and to be fair it probably _was_ rather shocking for her, but still. He opted for the truth. “I never knew I was, until I met Hannibal,” he told her truthfully.

She nodded, accepting that. “It’s not that I’m… you can date whoever you want. Hell, I’ve dated girls before. It just took me by surprise.” There was a moment of hesitation, and then, “Does Jack know?”

“ _Everybody_ knows,” Will admitted.

“Everyone except me?” she asked wryly.

“To be fair, they only found out last night. It’s not that we’ve been keeping you in the dark deliberately.”

The corners of Hannibal’s eyes crinkled in amusement as his gaze flicked down to Will. “Yes, you weren’t very subtle at the observatory.”

Will huffed, giving him a mock scowl. “I was drugged up and I’d just been kidnapped, excuse me for wanting a hug.”

Alana cleared her throat and both men turned their attention back to her. “So this is serious, then? You two really care about one another.”

“Well, yeah.” Will rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, regretting it instantly as Hannibal’s grip tightened around his waist. Whether he’d seen the blood or just smelled it again, Will didn’t know, but he resolved to keep his hands in his pockets to avoid worrying his partner further. “I mean, we’ve been dating for months.”

“I wouldn’t give a key to my house to just anyone,” Hannibal added, and Will took great pleasure in the way Alana’s eyes widened at that piece of information. _Jealousy_ , he thought, although he wasn’t quite sure which one of them she was jealous of. Possibly both.

“Well, I guess I should be happy for you, then,” she said after just too long of a pause. “I’ll leave you two alone. Thank you, Hannibal, for the wine.”

With that, she practically fled from the house. As soon as the door shut behind her, Will turned to Hannibal with raised eyebrows. “Alana, really?” he asked him.

“In my defense,” Hannibal said, opening the coat closet door, “she invited herself over. I tried to call you about it, but I suspect you didn’t get my message.”

“My phone broke,” Will admitted, eyeing Gideon’s form in the closet and wondering if he should draw his gun again. The other man seemed to have fallen asleep at some point during their conversation and was now slumped against the wall. Will couldn’t blame him; he _had_ punched him several times in the face, after all, and head injuries were notoriously tricky.

“Are you alright?” Hannibal asked, hauling Gideon’s limp body out of the closet as he spoke. Gideon stirred at the movement, eyes fluttering open with a groan, but Hannibal ignored him.

“My phone took the worst of it,” Will assured him. “I’ll have a few bruises come morning, but I’ll be okay.”

“Where are you hurt?”

Will hesitated before answering, knowing that Hannibal would likely disagree with his assessment that he was fine. “My knuckles you saw,” he began, and Hannibal nodded as he half-dragged Gideon down the hallway and towards the kitchen. Will followed him, wanting to offer his help but knowing Hannibal wouldn’t accept it. “I hit the ground pretty hard, so my shoulder is pretty sore.”  
  


They had reached the kitchen, now, and Hannibal propped the still-woozy Gideon up against the counter. “And?” he asked, studying Will intently.

Will sighed, reaching up to undo the collar of his coat. Hannibal sucked in a breath as he saw the bruises. They were still a harsh red, not yet having faded to purple.

“I was going to reprimand you for using unnecessary force, but now I find myself thinking that you should have hit him harder.”

“I’ll be fine, Hannibal,” Will promised him. “It’s just a few bruises. There’s no broken bones and it doesn’t even hurt that bad.” It didn’t, really; sure, the handprints around his throat throbbed a little bit, but he could talk without issue and the pain wasn’t bad enough to do more than distract him a little. He’d certainly had worse.

Hannibal pursed his lips but did not argue. “Go upstairs and take a shower. I’ll take care of Gideon."

Will sighed but nodded, stubbornly refusing to make a face as the movement sent a shock of pain through his abused neck. He was sure Hannibal caught it anyway, but he didn’t say anything as Will turned and headed towards the stairs.

It had been a long day. Will barely managed to get through the shower- careful to scrub any possible trace of evidence from his skin- before pulling on a pair of boxers and flopping down face-first in Hannibal’s bed. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

  
  
  


***

A few weeks later, Will was sitting at the dinner table presiding over a feast. Although he generally preferred when it was just the two of them, tonight that was not the case; they had been joined by Jack, Alana, Abigail, and one of Hannibal’s high-society friends. Hannibal emerged from the kitchen carrying a platter of food.

The guests all _oohed_ and _aahed_ as they took in the sight of the entreé. Thin-sliced strips of meat, perfectly browned on the outside but still pink and tender in the middle, rested over a bed of rosemary and asparagus. It looked and smelled wonderful.

“Seared steak round seasoned with marjoram, lemon, and thyme, sitting atop a roasted asparagus salad.” Hannibal announced the dish’s name as he always did, setting it in the center of the table before beginning to dutifully serve people the meat. Will hid his smile as Hannibal gave him an extra slice of the ‘steak.’

“Thank you, Hannibal, this looks delicious!” Jack said jovially, taking a sip of his wine as he waited for everyone to be served.

“Why, thank you, Jack. I can only hope it will taste as good as it looks.” His modesty was false, and they all knew it.

Will gave him a smile, but before he could say anything, Hannibal’s friend spoke up. She was a tall woman with impeccably curled blonde hair, who had been giving Will and Hannibal suspicious glances since she’d arrived. Will couldn’t remember her name, but he was fairly sure Hannibal had introduced her as his psychiatrist. “We all know it will be. After all, Hannibal’s dinner parties never disappoint.” There was an edge to her tone that made Will want to frown, but Hannibal gave his leg a reassuring squeeze under the table.

“Oh, it’s all in the cut of the meat, really,” Hannibal told the woman, giving her his warmest smile. Or, at least, a smile with a reasonable facsimile of warmth. His real warm smiles, the ones not constructed as a part of his mask, were reserved just for Will. “And in choosing the correct animal to butcher.”

The blonde woman swallowed nervously, looking a bit perturbed, but she took a bite of her food anyway. Abigail gave Will and Hannibal a knowing look before starting in on her own; they hadn’t included her in their plans, but she was well aware of how dangerous Hannibal could be, so Will wouldn’t be surprised if she knew what kind of meat was gracing her plate. Jack and Alana, however, looked completely unsuspecting.

“Hannibal always prefers to buy free-range,” Will told them, as if this were any other innocent bit of gossip. “He even insists on picking out the animals himself.”

“Oh, from your ethical butcher?” Jack questioned happily in between bites of his steak. Hannibal simply nodded in response, spearing a bit of asparagus with his fork as he did so.

“It’s delicious,” Alana said. “Did you cook this all by yourself?”

Hannibal gave her a broad smile, clearly knowing exactly what she’d been fishing for. “Not entirely, I’m afraid. Will here is becoming quite the talented sous chef.”

Will resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He’d barely done more than chop vegetables, unless of course Hannibal was referring to the butchery itself. “Only because you’re such a good teacher,” he replied with a smile, remembering unbidden the feeling of Hannibal’s hands guiding his own as they had sliced the flesh from Gideon’s legs. Yes, he was certainly becoming adept at that particular skill.

Jack opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, his phone buzzed in his pocket. Ordinarily, Hannibal would find such an interruption _rude_ , but now Will watched as his muscles tensed ever so subtly with anticipation rather than annoyance. Jack gave them an apologetic look. “I have to take this,” he said, standing up.

“By all means,” Hannibal smiled politely. “We’ll wait for you.”

Jack exited the room swiftly, shutting the door behind him. Bedelia- that _was_ her name, wasn’t it?- glanced over to Hannibal and Will, as if trying to piece together a puzzle. Will gave her a sardonic smile and she stiffened slightly in her seat.

Everyone was quiet for what could only have been a few seconds, but felt like an eternity. Then Jack was storming back in, good mood ruined, as he grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair and gave Hannibal an apologetic smile. “Duty calls,” he said, then spared a glance for Alana and Will. “Actually, you might want to come with me too.”

“What happened?” Will asked, Alana already halfway out of her seat. He already knew what had happened, but he waited eagerly for Jack’s answer regardless.

“Frederick Chilton’s gone missing.”

Alana sucked in a breath. “But wasn’t he in protective custody?”

“He was. All three agents guarding him were knocked out.” Jack paused, then, casting a rather disgruntled glance at Abigail and Bedelia. “Pretend you didn’t hear that. Alana, Will, let’s go.”

“If there’s no body, what do you want me to do?” Will questioned, although he was already out of his chair and grabbing his jacket.

“Right now, I need to know if it’s Gideon or the Ripper who got him. Think you can do that for me?”

“Of course,” Will promised, pressing a quick kiss to Hannibal’s cheek before turning to leave.

In the basement below them, it was just about time for Frederick Chilton to be waking up. Will wondered how he would react to the sight of Gideon’s body, missing three of his limbs and just barely clinging onto life. He wondered how Jack would react if he ever found out just what he’d eaten today. What he’d eaten _every_ time Hannibal had cooked him a meal.

The time for that would come, but not today. For now, Will followed after them, pretending to be concerned as he listened to Jack rattle off details about the case. They wouldn’t find Chilton, he knew, not until he and Hannibal wanted him to be found. But, well, it was always fun to poke at Jack’s buttons. There was a special kind of irony, he decided, in the head of the BAU investigating a crime scene with Abel Gideon’s flesh slowly digesting in his stomach.

Chilton and Gideon were dead men walking- or, in Gideon’s case, not walking. Will wondered, absently, what art Hannibal would make of their corpses.

Whatever it was, it was sure to be beautiful.


End file.
